by Harlow Brown
I didn’t say anything, I just attempted to eat the food on my plate. Food didn’t interest me. I took a few more bites and pushed the plate away.
“Look, we will get revenge on them, okay? The rest of us want it, too. You’re going to have to learn to move on. You have the gavel now, heavy as it may be. You are the one making the calls and leading us to good and prosperous avenues, but you can’t do that if you are hellbent on being pissed off. For the time being, you need to put aside your anger and buck up. We need you. This has to be a team effort, and you are the leader of the pack now. The time has come to show us what you are made of.”
Those three words hit me hard. We need you. I haven’t been needed since I was with Daisy. As it turns out, she didn’t need me, and is just fine without me. The club was different. They needed me, I knew that now.
“Look, I get it okay. You were in a tough spot and you can’t talk about what happened. There isn’t a whole lot of difference in us man. The only difference is I can talk about mine and you can’t for whatever reason.”
“You’re right. Chief found me when I least expected it, but when I needed to be saved the most. I can’t go into details, and probably wouldn’t if I could. It’s too much. I do have a new-found respect for your goofy ass though. I had no idea you were in a shitty situation like that.”
He slowly closed his eyes and hung his head, “It’s tough to talk about, but I felt like you needed to know that you were being a rude asshole and that you aren’t the only one feeling the pain of losing him. If I pissed you off, sorry not sorry. You needed to hear it.”
I nodded and closed my eyes because he was right. I was being a selfish prick. I was able to eat about half my food and looked up at Mag who was staring out the window.
“Mag let’s go. Let’s get back to the hotel, drink a few beers, and put this day in the books. We need to make tomorrow an early one.”
I paid the ticket and headed out the door. Before I threw my leg over the seat, I was wrapped in an ambush bear hug. I didn’t have the heart to push the emotional jack ass off me. He had just revealed a huge part of his shitty past to me. I know he meant well and right now wasn’t a time to be a jerk, so I awkwardly clapped him on the back and said, “We got this, bro. We got this. We will get Chief the justice he deserves. We just have to listen to Sax and trust that he knows what he is doing. You and your feelings can get the fuck off me.” I was hoping to lighten the mood. It worked because Magnum backed off with a shitty grin on his face.
“Fucker.” I replied. He knew what he was doing, and it worked. I was in a better place than I was a little bit ago because of that goofy bastard. He irritated me and made me wonder how he tied his shoes most days, but today he was there for me in a way that I didn’t realize I needed.
Back at the hotel, the other guys were drinking beer and shooting the shit.
“You think you can play nice now, Fury?” Asked a slightly irritated Whiskey.
“Yeah.” I wasn’t going to share what Magnum had just told me about Chief’s generosity. If he wanted Whiskey to know, he could damn well tell him, that isn’t my place.
“Glad to see your mental break made you more tolerable and happier,” He replied sarcastically. I supposed I deserved it and since I was walking on thin ice with him, I remained quiet.
Sax began to tell us about Sully’s prized possession, his car collection. We would devise a plan to torch them. We still had to figure out the details of how we would get Jay and Sully together.
“You guys don’t worry about getting them together. Let’s get to Jay and he will lead us to Sully. I promise, he will squeal when tortured even the smallest amount. He is a pansy. I’ll worry about getting him then the rest will fall into place. If it’s okay with y’all, while y’all are getting Chief tomorrow, I will locate Jay. We can play the rest by ear once we have Jay in our possession,” Sax stated.
“Sounds fine to me. Boys?” I asked everyone else.
Everyone nodded in agreement that tomorrow was the day. We all drank a few beers and went to bed. The next twelve hours would be challenging to pull off. Grabbing Jay without being caught would be risky, but a risk all involved were more than willing to make.
My head hit the pillow but once again, sleep evaded me. I laid there and stared at the ceiling for what seemed like hours and thought of absolutely nothing. As thoughts of nothingness were abundant in my head, sleep should have easily claimed me. I got up and went outside to smoke a cigarette and try to figure out a way to fall asleep. While I was smoking, I had a vision. I saw Chief as plain as if he were standing there in person. He walked up to me and said, “Kid, you’re on a path of self-destruction. Stop wanting revenge so badly that you don’t sleep. You have come all this way for something, don’t fuck it up now.”
“Chief?” I said as I fanned the smoke from my face. I was for sure that I had obviously lost my mind. I was delusional from the lack of rest.
“You ain’t imagining anything, so stop flailing your arms like a fool. I’m here, but only to tell you to stop being so hellbent on getting revenge that you sacrifice the club or yourself. You will have more responsibilities coming soon enough, and everyone involved will need you around. We don’t need your grumpy ass in the slammer or dead. Pull your head out.”
“More responsibilities? What the hell?”
“You will find out soon enough. Don’t be afraid, and don’t run away. Don’t push the people away that are going to need you the most.”
“You are being very vague, ya know? Now my mind is going to wonder all over the place.”
“All good things in time. Just use your head, and trust your instincts, especially where your girl is concerned. She’s a good one. Don’t let her go.” He said as he faded away just like the smoke from my cigarette.
I couldn’t even ask what in the fresh hell he was talking about, because he evaporated so rapidly. He was gone before I got my wits about me and could fully put together a full cohesive thought. I was left to wonder what the hell he was talking about. I finished my smoke and went in to put my too-tired-to-function self to bed.
Chapter 20
Fury
MORNING CAME, AND Sax was on the ball. He found Jay’s location and was figuring out where and when to get him. Shooter had picked up breakfast for us. I attempted to eat but was only able to get a few bites down. My nerves were taking over, knowing I had to pick up Chief’s ashes. I went out and smoked again as if the nicotine would somehow stop the pain, halt all the emotions that attempted to creep back in, or stop the nausea from crawling up in my throat.
“I’ve called Jay. He’s meeting us at Sunset Tattoo. Let’s ride.” Sax said in a serious tone, as if this is was the final mission in life. I can see where he would be okay if it was.
The guys mounted their bikes while Shooter and I loaded up in the truck. We drove to Sunset and waited on Jay. The idiot thought that Sax was going to travel alone. Upon arrival at the dilapidated building, he unlocked the door to the space that used to be Roxxi’s haven. The paint was peeling, and the stench of the stale air hit us in the face as we entered. We all went to the back, except for Sax. He was waiting out front for Jay.
Jay arrived at the old building and sauntered in. He made an ass out of himself by trying to intimidate Sax, but Sax immediately grabbed him by the throat and mades him talk. In order to stay alive, Jay did exactly what Sax said. He took out his cell and called Sully. He shared that Sax was back in town and took the order from him to take Sax to him. He didn’t know that he had fallen right into our web. Jay was loaded in the truck with Shooter and I, and Sax looked to Magnum and said something. We sat and watched what was unfolding in front of us. Sax walked over to Sunset, and Mag followed him in. It was only a few minutes, then we hear gun shots and an explosion. Flames made their way out of the building, as Sax and Magnum ran out the doors. They motioned that everything was okay and yelled to load up and hit the road to Sully’s. Jay was in the front of the truck, with his hands behind
his back, and we barked orders at him to give us directions.
Hours later we arrived, but we waited til’ dark to make our appearance. We all eyeballed his massive fucking estate. Shooter got out to discuss his next move with Sax, “How do you want to start this?”
Sax points his finger to the back of the truck, “Put Jay in the back, and lock the bed cover. If he gets out, he will blow this.”
Shooter had an evil grin on his face as he walked to the truck and grabbed Jay by the hair and drugs him out. He walked towards to the bed and Jay began to fight him, “I’ll suffocate in there!”
“It’ll be painless, and it won’t be remotely close to the pain you caused Roxxi and the others you hurt.”
“I’m sorry Sax, come on man,” He begged.
He gave up the fight, got in, and Shooter locked the cover. Mag and Sax took off to the house while Shooter and stayed back and awaited the show. It wasn’t long until I saw the yellow glow of an explosion and heard the boom of the roof being blown off his precious car garage where his expensive car collection was housed. His precious cars that were worth hundreds of thousands of dollars were scorched and turned to black piles of smoking steel.
In a few minutes, Shooter and I see Mag and Sax appear out of the darkness with guns pointed at the slimy looking bastard, that I presumed was Sully. As they got closer, Shooter got out and waited for them at the bed of the truck. When they arrived, he opened the bed cover and Jay scrambled out and leapt to his feet. He dive bombed Magnum, who hit the ground. The hit took him completely off guard. He cussed out loud as he lost his balance and his gun scattered to the ground away from him. Jay took advantage of Magnum being down and escaped into the night. I headed to chase him down, but Sax motioned that Sully was the one we really needed right now. “He is nothing without his puppet master. Let him go. I will worry about him later.”
“He gave me up?” Sully asks jerking his head into the direction Jay headed in.
“He chose to save his own ass, and with any luck he will get eaten by a wild animal or fall and smash his head in on some rocks.” Sax said in a non-sarcastic tone. Sully hesitated but gave up and got in the back of the truck. We wanted to make sure he stayed asleep and quiet, so we drugged and knocked him out.
“We heading home now?” Whiskey asks.
“The real fun begins now,” Sax said. “Let’s go try and get some sleep. He is locked in there with no way out. Tomorrow we get ready to ride home.
Back at the hotel, we chilled out and had a few drinks. I took a deep breath and said, “Tomorrow morning I am going to get Chief and then we head home.”
The events of the day had been exhausting. Tonight hit us hard and we all seemed to need sleep. It wasn’t as good of sleep as it could have been if we had been with our better halves, but it would keep us between the lines tomorrow for the ride home.
I laid there in a place of half sleep and thought of home. I was in Panama City and I was calling another town home. The enormity of that thought and feeling weighed heavily on my chest. Sleep finally took over, and I didn’t wake till morning.
I called Canon and arranged to meet him but seeing as there was a captive in the bed of the truck, I asked Magnum if I could take his bike. I met Canon at the funeral home and when I walked in, he handed me a black, matte urn.
“I hate that we are seeing each other under these circumstances. I hope you don’t mind, but I didn’t want to bother you, so I went ahead and chose what I thought you would appreciate for the urn. It seemed to be the best match for you.”
I wrapped my head around what he said. Was I mad that a decision was taken away from me about the last place Chief would rest? Or was I thankful I wasn’t burdened by this decision? I stared at the urn, looked back to Canon, and was silent for what felt like several minutes.
When I found my words again, I said, “Thank you. I’m not entirely sure I would have handled that decision well. Turns out, over the last few days, I have lost my cool when it comes to Chief. This is a nice urn. It’s simple and not flashy just like Chief would have wanted. I will take him, and we will decide as a club what to do with is ashes.”
“I truly am sorry for this, Fury. Did you get a new bike?”
“Uh, mine is getting an oil change and a new set of tires. I borrowed one from a brother. This one’s saddle bags are slightly bigger than mine, so there is more room for the urn.” I lied. I didn’t think he would notice that the bike was different, but there was no way I could tell him that there was a hostage in the back of the truck I drove.
“Tell your friend he has a nice ride. Take care, Fury. If we find out anything about the arsonist, we will let you know. We are still looking for Jay. He is our prime suspect.”
“It is appreciated.” I nodded, put Chief in the saddlebag, started up the bike, and took off to the bank. I had to transfer the funds from the bank here in Florida to the bank back in Rudy. I went in prepared with the appropriate documents and my business attitude.
“Can I help you sir?” The cashier asked.
“I need to transfer funds from this account.” I slid her the account information for the club account here in Florida, “To this account. Here is the ABA number and the routing number to the Bank of Rudy.”
“I hate to lose your business. May I ask if it was something we did?”
“No, we are moving.” I didn’t elaborate or give anything away.
She looked at me with questioning eyes but did what I asked. She handed me the documents and I signed them. “There you go. Everything has been transferred over just as you wish. I wish you luck in your new endeavors and in your new town.”
I simply nodded, got the documents and headed out the door. I was leaving behind the only life I had ever known since Austin. The familiarity of PCB was soon to be a thing of the past, to be replaced with another new hometown. I was leaving with my memories, our money, and our president with no intention to ever return. We could settle with the insurance company via phone and email. If not, I would come back, but only on business. I wouldn’t, hell, I couldn’t, stay here without Chief. I knew that my time here on the beach was done.
BACK AT THE hotel, the guys were up and getting around. I brought Chief inside and sat him on the table beside the tv. “Boys, there he is. That fucker in the back of the truck is going to end up to just like him, without the pretty urn. Sax, I promised that you could have him, but if you need help or decide you don’t want this on your hands, I will do it with pleasure. Because of him and that pussy Jay,” I pointed to the urn, “My president is dead and all we have left is his remains. Sully doesn’t get to live. He dies by your hands or mine. Up to you.”
“We are ready to head home, if you are, Fury. Let’s get this over with, it’s time to move on.” Whiskey was offering his support. “We have Sully to deal with and we need to collectively figure out what to do with Chief’s ashes. So much death but part of it feels good.”
I put Chief in the front of the truck, and the boys rode behind us back to Rudy.
BACK AT WINSTEAD ACRES, hours after we started the trek back, we were greeted by our ladies and the rest of our members. Briar and Riddick were the first out the door to meet us at the truck.
“Y’all need any help? Where is he?” Riddick asked.
“He’s in the back of the truck. Take him to the garage and tie him up. I don’t think he’ll get away, he’s hardly conscious.” I ordered. “Also, out here in the middle of bumfucked Egypt there has to be hog farms. Find one. That is what we will do with the body. Mag, if you and Sax want, you can yank teeth. Hogs can’t digest them. We will bury them somewhere else.”
Briar chimed in, “Ol’ man Cluck has a hog farm. He doesn’t feed them properly, so I bet they would tear up fresh meat.”
I left the boys to their tasks and searched for Rumor, hoping that she didn’t take our last conversation seriously.
I ran into Charlie, who simply stated, “She doesn’t really want to talk to you yet. You fucked up. You fucked up
big time.”
“It was for her own good. She didn’t need to be linked to me in any way while I was on that trip, because had something gone wrong, I wasn’t going to be the downfall of another woman,” I said before I realized what escaped my mouth.
“Look, I don’t know, nor do I care, who you hurt in your past. That don’t affect me now, and it doesn’t affect Rumor either. You need to fix this, if she lets you. You might have good intentions, but you hurt her. I hope she listened to Briar, but I know she is done with the confusion.” She scolded me like I was an errant child.
I deserved it though. It needed to be done. I wouldn’t feel bad for protecting her. I wish Eric would have had the balls that Fury does. Perhaps, he would know his kid if that was the case.
Magnum went in and tried to find a drink as Sax went to find Roxxi. I knew they were headed to the garage to do whatever they needed to do to Sully. I was fine with it as long as they cleaned it up. I knew that Roxxi needed closure, too.
I went in search of the one person I hoped had ignored the orders I gave her. I went aimlessly looking through the house. I went upstairs and knocked on her bedroom door. Nothing. I went down stairs and to the gazebo. Amongst the flowers I saw nothing, and I kept wondering where the hell she could’ve gone. I gave up, sat down, and lit a smoke.
“I bet she doesn’t want to talk to you, but I also bet that she doesn’t want anything to do with her ex. If I were you, I’d do some serious kissing up to make shit right between y’all. Her ex screwed up bigger than you, and that’s your saving grace. That’s the only reason you even still have a snowballs chance in hell of fixing this.” Briar said as he headed inside. I guess he came out here and told me to make sure I knew I fucked up, and that there was still a chance, if I played my cards right. Chief even said something along those same lines.